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From a father to his son.

A Guest Post by Satish

Been a long time since I wrote on Preeti’s
blog so thought I would give it a go. I could not have chosen a better day.

It was on this day sixteen years back that he arrived in this world.
The Doctor said he would arrive the previous day, but he did not feel like it.
Guess it was nice, warm and cozy inside, and our man was in no hurry to exert
himself. When he did pop out he was so outraged to have been disturbed that he
let out a bellow so loud that the hospital shook. The first couple of months
were a nightmare. He would not sleep in the night and wanted attention all the
time. He just would not sleep for more
than a few minutes. Preeti and I would grab a few minutes of sleep when we
could and it was tiring. He would make some of the most horrible faces but when
he smiled or gurgled, it was plain beautiful.

After the initial few months he became a model baby. Would eat on
time, sleep on time and shower everyone with wide smiles which would simply charm
them. I remember once we went to the nearby grocery store and some of the store
boys kept staring at us and giggling. When I looked up I realised he was
raising his eyebrows repeatedly at them and flashing smiles. He was such a cute
baby.

Atul as a baby

Total strangers came to talk to him, including once when a pretty lady
crossed the road to feed him a marshmallow and grab his cheeks saying ‘what a sweetheart’. Note here that Dad
was standing there, in fact carrying him, waiting for someone to offer him a
marshmallow but no one even thought of offering let alone feeding me. Imagine! It’s such a cruel world.

Over the years I remember most incidents in his life. Like when he
had a fever or when he fell and hurt himself (and needed six stitches on his
head) or when he participated in a school play. My heart always swelled with
pride when I saw him and I pushed him harder to get him to excel.

Atul as a child, in his dad's shoes

I also
worried for him and wanted to protect him from any pain not realizing that I may
not have been letting him spread his wings and fly. Maybe a part of me subconsciously
did not want him to fly away and I wanted to keep him close to my heart.
Hindsight is a great thing and I can think of a million ways in which I could
have been a better father. He knows that I love him but at times I realise he
gets frustrated with me for being over protective. I have felt the same way with my Dad.Whether fear and protectiveness is the
generation gap or a part of growing up, I cannot say.

Atul had won the first prize at school for clay modelling. This is what he had made.

He is one of the most intelligent kids I have ever seen and his brilliant
questions since he was a little boy have often stumped me. Like when watching
TV he asked me why a channel was called Star Plus (and not just Star) or why shadows are black
and not in colour! A number of times
when Preeti and I have been stuck with how to do something with a new gadget,
this kid would sort it out in two seconds. Every teacher of his till date has
said that he has a razor sharp mind, is charismatic, witty and to boot charms
all the ladies.

He has always been so mature for his age. Like on his 9th
birthday when he said he did not want any presents but instead wanted us to
sponsor a meal and some gifts for the children at an orphanage. Many people
have even called us up and said our kids were extremely well behaved and that
he in particular took care of his sister so well during a party. He is also so generous
by heart, including as a child giving his school jacket to his sister to avoid
her getting punished and taking the punishment on himself (Preeti wrote about
this incident in 34 B&C). He is very protective about his sister and my
heart swelled with pride when he bashed a bigger kid for picking on her and
hitting her. Out aloud I said he should not have hit the other child, but in my
mind I did a few high fives and cartwheels with supreme parental pride.

Atul and Lostris whom he adores.

Years flew and he grew. He’s now taller than me. Earlier my baby used
to stand on his toes to be taller than me and still fall short. Suddenly one
day he was taller.

Atul and Satish

Am sure he will grow even more than he is not only in height
but also in stature. He is dedicated at what he does. On topics that interest
him he does a huge amount of research and knows his stuff inside out. During
his boards there were days when he studied late in the night and was up again
early morning even though he was exhausted.

Working out has been his passion
and he is on the way to six packs very soon. His latest fancy (and I get
nightmares about him driving on the unsafe Bangalore roads) is getting a motor
bike. He has been relentlessly pestering Preeti and me and it’s currently been
postponed till he turns 18.

I am his father and he will always remain my baby but there are so
many things I learn from him. Like how to love unconditionally, being self-confident,
how not to be selfish and above all pursuing your interests with passion.

Happy 16th Birthday, my Darling Atul.

Atul--clicked today (27th November 2013)

You have turned out
to be such a fine young man. My heart bursts with such pride and love for you.
I may not express it very often but Son, I adore you. You are my world. As your
name suggests may you always be incomparable and continue to be a fantastic human
being. Proud of you my darling son.

Nice and touching..every word says how much you love your son. Happy Birthday Atul. Have a prosperous happy life. :)(And don't forget have an adventurous secret blast..you are gonna miss these teen-birthdays later.)

so sweet post... happy birthday Atul... may the almighty guide u all the time, may shine like a star for ur beloved parents forever... i wish u only the best warm wishes from the bottom of my heart... :)

This post took me back to my son born day and memories till date .will definitely do something like this when my son is 16 year old . i never though father r so emotional specailly about son ..father -daughter jodi is famous everywhere . Keep rocking !!God bless your entire family .

Well written, Satish. Your corporation could use your literary skills for them. You should begin to blog too - how about callung it jafo2? My best wishes to Atul. I have a son who'll turn seventeen soon and I am damn proud of him too. He is also an intelligent, extremely well behaved, kindhearted and a lad much mature than his age. He's taking his twelfth board exams soon and I dread him leaving me soon after for his university.

Lovely letter.. very beautifully expressed :) Happy Birthday to your son and I must say your son is handsome.. aah definitely have most striking features from you Preethi. (Btn, I finally laid my hands on "The Secret Wishlist" that I got it from airport and it was a very good read and I am looking forward to read more of your work).

I had attended the Kerala Lit fest at Calicut , had a magnificent event and and had just got back. That evening the house owner dropped a sudden bombshell on us, telling us we had to vacate the place in two months.They said they had decided to sell it. Just like that. The…

A bit of news I have is this FUN and EASY contest that we are running, where two winners will be flown to Mumbai to attend Women Writers Fest
(click on link to know all details) with me ! We will also take care of
the hotel stay for a night. And ALL participants will get an assured surprise in their inbox on 28th Feb! We started it today, and it goes on till 25th feb.
Isn't this Fabulous? I am very excited about it!

What do you have to do to enter?

Simple--Share
a pic with 'Life is What You Make it' and post it on YOUR social media
(blog, facebook, Twitter, Instagram--anything you like and use the
hashtag #LifeWithPreeti so we find it. Also set your account to public! Please make it a post (as stories disappear in 24 hours) We have already started receiving
pictures from as far as Kedarkanth. I am absolutely loving it, and it is
so moving and wonderful to see all the pictures.

I have a lot of news to share with you, though if you have been following me …

So, your favourite character Ankita is back! This book takes off where the first one ended. The first book has an epilogue which tells you what happened fifteen years later. But it doesn't give you any details about you what happened immediately afterwards, and in the time period leading up to those 15 years.Life is what you make it ends with Ankita coming out of the mental hospital, and joining a creative writing course. The new book Wake Up, Life is Calling starts off from there.
This book was a very difficult one to write (It took me 8 years, and I wrote nine more books in the meantime) to go back to narrate Ankita's story. I am really excited about how it has turned out.